An Iceman Out of His Time
by Michelle Solo
Summary: "Normal" mutant Bobby Drake, the Iceman, has always felt like an outcast amongst his peers. Even as an X-Man he never felt like he truly belonged. But now, Bobby's finally going to learn what it means to fit in with the "out" crowd.


Title: An Iceman Out of His Time

Rating: PG... for now.

Feedback: Much appreciated. 

Summary: "Normal" mutant Bobby Drake, the self-proclaimed Iceman, has always felt like an outcast amongst his peers. Even as an X-Man he never felt like he truly belonged in their ranks. But after a freak accident, Bobby's finally going to learn what it means to fit in with the "out" crowd.

Disclaimer: Marvel owns the X-Men idea and 20th Century Fox owns all movie references that I make. 

***** 

Life for Bobby Drake, the eldest son of William and Madeline Drake, was not that much different from a normal male his age. His life, as he would describe it, was average at best.

That is, until he developed mutant powers.

Now the life of Bobby Drake, the teenaged mutant with the ability to turn the moisture in the air to sub-zero temperatures, was, comparatively speaking, barely above average. He couldn't walk through walls or move stuff with his mind or make it rain whenever he felt like. He could just make stuff really, really cold. Really. His powers weren't extraordinary by any means nor did they seem to serve him any grand purpose.

That is, until he became an X-Man. 

But such as Bobby Drake's life goes that once things take a turn for the exciting, it has a penchant for becoming a big fat disappointment. 

I'm Robert "Bobby" Drake, the mutant with the ability to freeze about anything and everything, and I'm a big, dull dud. A dull dud doesn't really stand out in crowds or a full body leather suit.

How does one like me become an X-Man in the first place, if his powers are so boring and unimportant like he says they are? I suppose you could say that necessity is the mother of all induction.

After the "incident" at Alkali Lake, the Professor appointed Rogue, the blue German elf, and I official members of his motley crew of mutant do-gooders: the X-Men. At first it was a bittersweet deal, seeing as how Dr. Grey had just sacrificed herself to save the rest of us not a few hours before our unofficial induction (which consisted of Scott crying and Logan throwing me and Rogue leather suits in a "more gruff than usual" manner). 

'An X-Man,' I had thought to myself. 'A real live X-Man.' And I had been excited about it, too. I could finally go on adventures and fight evil and save the world from Magneto and the forces of wrongdoing! 

I read one too many comic books as a kid.

You know, looking back, I should have known it would happen. I should have remembered what happens when something new and exciting comes into my life. 

Absolutely nothing. 

Life for Bobby Drake, older son of Willie and Maddie Drake and very icy mutant, became, once again, normal. Well, as normal as you can get in Xavier's mansion, but I think you see my point. 

In all fairness, I don't think you will understand where my insecurity comes from until you learn about my past. You see, ever since I stepped foot on the soil of 1407 Graymalkin Lane, I never felt like I truly belonged here. Oh joy, I can make an ice cube out of the cat. There's a kid over there who can clone himself. And, look, that girl over there just walked through that 700 lb. kid whose mass alone probably defies gravity (and to this day I'm still amazed she didn't pass out from doing so). 

Even the gifts of the faculty seemed to mock my own. 

The first day in Dr. Grey's biology class I knew that book didn't move across the table on its own.

Not often do you see a young African woman with naturally white hair and crystal blue eyes.

None of the students ever directly asked Scott why he wore those sunglasses but everybody knew that you didn't want him to take those things off when you were around.

You can't lie in the Professor's class; he'll know.

Why was did I even come to Xavier's in the first place? It was mainly a matter of control issues (remember the cat popsicle?) and I knew I had to get out of Quincy before I put my little brother on ice. One fine day Xavier and Dr. Grey showed up on my front porch and, before I knew it, I was the first student in a new class of mutants at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. 

Right away I felt something like an outcast (my icy abilities weren't really something I could brag about compared to, say, the kid who could become a living cannonball) but I suppose that self-imposed isolation did me some good. In only a few sessions with Xavier I had learned to control the moisture in the air and my manipulation of it. Soon the ever-present water particles felt to me like clay to a sculptor or paint to a painter. 

Why am I still here? I couldn't exactly go back home after only a few weeks; what would my parents think? Of course if I have any thoughts of going back home now...

Xavier's school for us gifted youngsters is the only safe haven I have against a world that isn't exactly willing to embrace my kind just yet. 

Even though I felt safe at Xavier's my powers had always made me feel like I didn't truly belong there. What purpose could my powers serve to the mending of mutant-human relations? Not until I met John Allerdyce did I come to understand that I wasn't the only one there who felt strangely out of place. His sentiments about his gifts reflected my own. I suppose that's why we got along so well, despite our conflicting personalities, morals, and, obviously, powers. 

Then there was Rogue. I had always thought my power as something like a dead weight that served no greater function than to keep cool in the summer and comfortable in the winter. Rogue's "gift" was something much worse than that. It was a curse, a curse that forbade her from ever having physical contact with another human being unless she wanted to hurt them, put them in a coma or, worse yet, kill them. She and I got along on a much deeper and more personal level than me and John ever could have. 

Now that John (it's "Pyro" now, remember?) has gone and flown the coop and made a happy little nest with Magneto's Brotherhood, Rogue is the only one I have to feel a connection with. Don't get me wrong, I care for her deeply, but there's something... missing... now that John's gone. I have a girlfriend, yes, but I can't just depend on her for everything. I need that sense of platonic friendship to keep me grounded in the abnormality that comes with mutancy. Without it, I feel... normal. 

And the thing about being normal around here is that it isn't normal. 

Becoming a junior member of the X-Men hasn't really changed me any. Normalcy will follow me everywhere I go, I understand that. It's part of who I am and who I'll always be. I would never fit in with the unique people around me. 

That is, until a freak accident sent me twelve years into the past. 

This time, life for Bobby Drake would not stay so normal. 


End file.
